New Winder Larks Storm the Podium at Rock Great 8

Nigel Hufton - 04th May 2016

May Bank holiday saw the first sea open of the Lark season at Rock, sponsored by Helly Hansen and GJW Direct. All eyes were on how well the first two new Larks from Winder would perform.

And what an entrance! Race 1 saw Nigel Hufton and Matt Wood start early and cross the fleet, storming into a commanding lead to win the race. Unable to quite believe the dream scenario, they were caught napping at the start of the second race and it was Harry Pynn and Gemma Cook who built on their second place to post a win, followed by the second new Winder, sailed by Steve & Ally Hall. With glorious sunshine out in the bay, a third race was sailed, which Pynn/Cook also won, followed by Chris Whitehouse/Simon Haighton. This left Pynn/Cook as overnight leaders, but with the two Winders close behind.

With the wind building on day two, the two Winders shared first and second places, with the ever-consistent pairing of James Stewart and Millie Parsons third in both races.

Going into the final race on day 3, Hufton/Wood led, but with only 2 points between the top three. With Hufton/Wood getting the wrong side of a port lift on the first beat and the Halls storming into the lead it looked like the black Winder would win overall, but kite halyard problems dragged them back into the bunch. With Hufton/Wood closing on Pynn/Cook, at the finish the top three boats finished in reverse order. However, with Stewart/Parsons winning the race, followed by Whitehouse/Haighton, it meant that Hufton/Wood had the best results on countback and were crowned champions – the third win for Hufton in 4 years, followed by Pynn/Cook and then the Halls.

Thanks go to Martin Hough for being a brilliant PRO and to Rock Sailing Club for holding such a brilliant weekend. We hope you’ll have us back next year.

Thanks also to sponsorship from GJW Direct and Helly Hansen, who provided great prizes.